Tommy Birch reports that Jordan Wicks is no longer with the Iowa Cubs due to a possible promotion for this weekend.

North Side Bound has heard similar rumblings via team sources though we may not hear anything conclusive for the time being.

The 21st overall selection in the 2021 draft anchored the class for the Cubs. With him projected as one of the surest talents to make the majors and a relatively quick mover, Wicks making his debut approximately two years since being selected shouldn’t come as too great a surprise. The Cubs VP of Scouting, Dan Kantrovitz, discussed how the Cubs viewed Jordan Wicks as a top 10 player in the class. While some of those comments could be chalked up as classic “draft hype” – what scouting director comes out and says they botched their first round selection a few hours after? – I buy it. For one, Wicks was projected to be taken about ten spots higher. Invariably every year a player or two falls half a round for whatever reason. The Cubs were the beneficiaries in 2021. In 2023, they’re looking forward to the MLB contributions he can provide.

Jordan Wicks the pitcher

Wicks is a complete pitcher featuring as many as six pitches in his arsenal. He mixes and matches against opponents though it’s his signature changeup that gets most of the attention. The changeup, which was described as “double-plus” when he was drafted continued to shine during his professional work. It gets swing and miss at nearly 44% in AAA.

A recent addition to Wicks’ arsenal is his cutter, which he uses primarily to right-handed hitters. It serves to induce weak contact, but doesn’t generate whiffs. We here at North Side Bound are high on the cutter for Wicks in concept, but will acknowledge you’d like to see it generate more swing and miss to consider it an average pitch.

Pittsburgh is the ideal matchup to deploy Jordan Wicks. We now know that Wicks had a bullpen session on Wednesday instead to prepare for Saturday’s matchup, but the soft-landing spot holds true.

What’s next for Wicks?

This begs the question about whether the plan is for Wicks to be up the rest of the regular season. We don’t know yet, but don’t be alarmed if Wicks is sent to AAA following this start only to be brought back when rosters expand. These are all roster machinations for later. Enjoy the moment and hopefully the first of many outings by Chicago Cubs pitcher, Jordan Wicks.